Burn-in test - network error - timeout waiting for packet

[taohung]

Hi, all,
we found a netwrok error - timeout waiting for packet, when we perform the burn-in testing.
The strange thing is even if I didn't connect any LAN cable or power off LAN chip, we still can pass several times. It confuses us what the test purpose is. What is I can change to check the testing again?

one more, what's the correct test method of network? Does it need SUT to a router by LAN cable?

[Tim (PassMark)]

What settings are you using for the network test?

The standard network test sends ICMP_ECHO packets (ping) to the destination address, this error indicates that it has timed out while waiting for a response for one of the packets.

There is no guarantee these packets will arrive at their destination as they can be discarded in times of high load so if you are using "every bad packet generates and error" a single error should not be an issue.

For the standard network test the network card should have a valid IP for the network it is connected to and the destination IP entered in the settings should be a networked device that is capable of responding to ping commands.

[taohung]

I didn't use any setting, but the network test can be performed still.
Is it a normal behavior? We did check v6.0 cannot. Is it a new testing in v7.0?

[Tim (PassMark)]

It sounds like you might have the test mode set to "Internal Loopback" which only runs the test on the internal loopback address 127.0.0.1 and is merely a quick check that the network card is installed and functioning, no data is actually sent across the network.

You should change the test mode to "All available physical network ports" and add a valid external IP for each network card you are testing.

[taohung]

It's strange if we removed network card, the "internal loopback" testing can be performed still.
However, we will change the test mode to "All available physical network ports" with a valid external IP to check again.

[taohung]

Hi,Tim, currently, we are failed on "internal loopback". It should not an actual network testing. Is it an issue in Passmark internal?

[David (PassMark)]

If you are getting timeouts on the internal loop address then there is something wrong.

Maybe the system is under very heavy load, or the network device driver isn't installed or the there is a firewall blocking all activity.

[taohung]

hi, all,
If I want to calculate the defect rate for network testing. What's the suggested number for denominator & numerator?

[David (PassMark)]

It is really up to you.
Could be errors per hour, errors per KB or bit error rate (BIT). They are all related in any case.
The underlying BIT can be hard to work out as TCP/IP does automatic error detection and re-transmission. You certainly can't use the internal loop back address to work out BIT on a network.

[netmajic]

I am getting network errors when using the loopback address in BurnIn version 7 but not when I used Version 6. Both tests are configured the same. Which results are accurate?

[Tim (PassMark)]

What are the errors you are getting?

If it is "Check destination address" this is likely to be because changes were made to the network test between V7 and V6 so the loopback address can no longer be used as a destination address when testing a specific network card (when using one of the "all available" options).